DISCLAIMER: All characters are to Bandai and Toei Animation, I own nothing at all!
CAVE
Gatomon wasn't usually the type of digimon who would let herself be distracted by too many thoughts. However, a certain someone had been firmly stuck inside Gatomon's mind for the past few weeks or so.
"Man... What the hell is wrong with me?" Gatomon wondered. "I see him everywhere I go, I can't get him out of my head... Patamon..."
Despite questioning it, Gatomon knew perfectly well why she was thinking about Patamon all the time. It had taken four years for her to fully realize the feelings she had towards Patamon.
Gatomon had never experienced actual love in her life before. During the beginning of her life, her only friend was Wizardmon, but he was just that: a friend. After Myotismon was killed and Gatomon joined the DigiDestined, there wasn't much time for romance either, what with saving the world and all.
Then became the peaceful three or so years, between the death of Apocalymon and the rise of the Digimon Emperor. During this time Gatomon finally started to relax and accept the other DigiDestined digimon as her friends. She started hanging out with especially Patamon, and by the time T.K. and Kari returned to the Digital World they had already become best friends.
It wasn't until after MaloMyotismon's death that Gatomon finally started to realize she had fallen in love with Patamon. At first, she tried to shrug it off as a mere crush. However, as time passed, she soon found out that this was not the case: She could barely even look Patamon in the eyes anymore without blushing.
On the one hand, Gatomon wanted to tell Patamon how she felt, but she couldn't. Either the opportinuty never showed up, somebody would interrupt them right as she was about to confess, or Gatomon would chicken out even if she had the perfect chance.
On the other hand, Gatomon was terribly afraid of confessing her love. What if Patamon didn't feel the same way towards her? What if they couldn't be friends anymore afterwards? These fears, combined with the romantic feelings and yearning Gatomon felt, were slowly tearing her apart from the inside. What should she do?
"I need some fresh air to clear my head." Gatomon thought, and decided to go for a small walk. However, even after half an hour of aimless wandering, all Gatomon could think of was Patamon: Patamon's face, Patamon's voice, how she wanted to confess her feelings to Patamon, how she wanted to be with Patamon, how she wanted to hold Patamon, how she wanted to kiss Patamon...
"Euurgh..." Gatomon groaned, and held her head. "Okay... Okay. The next time I see Patamon, I'm going to tell him how I feel. I can't go on like this anymore, I'll go completely crazy-"
A drop of water fell on Gatomon's nose. Gatomon rubbed her nose and said "Hmm? What the-" She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed it had started to rain.
"Great." Gatomon mumbled. "Just fantastic. Well, I'd better go find some shelter-" Lighting struck nearby. "...and fast." She added.
After wandering for several minutes, Gatomon found no shelter whatsoever: There were only trees, trees everywhere. Eventually, she came across a cave in the woods.
"Well, it's better than nothing." Gatomon said, but hesitated for a moment before stepping inside the cave.
The cave was not a place where one would like to spend some time in: It was dark, dismal and damp. Gatomon took a few steps, looked behind her at the rainy outside world and carefully went deeper into the darkness.
Gatomon heard a cracking sound, as if someone had stepped on a branch.
"Someone else is here!" Gatomon thought, and stood still for a few seconds. Someone was walking in her general direction.
"I, I'm not sure if this is a good idea." Gatomon said to herself. "What if it's a hostile digimon?" Nevertheless, she started to cautiously walk even deeper in the cave.
"Man, I just wish it weren't so dark so I could see- Ow!" Gatomon had collided with the unknown digimon in the cave, and they both fell.
"Ow, my head..." The stranger moaned. Gatomon immediatly recognised the voice.
"P-Patamon?" She asked. "Is that you?"
"Gatomon?" Patamon's voice responded. "Oh, thank goodness it was you. For a moment there I thought you were a rampaging Monochromon or something."
"I know how you feel." Gatomon muttered. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I think we're both here for the same reason." Patamon replied. "I was looking for some shelter after it started raining, and I found this cave."
"I see." Gatomon said, and sniffled.
"Oh, you must be feeling cold." Patamon said. "Come with me." He gently grabbed Gatomon's paw. Gatomon's heart jumped a bit, but Patamon didn't notice anything.
"I had managed to start a fire, and I was looking for some more firewood right before I heard you sneaking around here." Patamon explained. "Ah, here we are."
Indeed, there was a small fire where Patamon and Gatomon were going. Thanks to the fire, Gatomon could finally properly see her surroundings: She looked at Patamon, who had an assuring smile on his face.
"Just sit down and warm up at the fire, I'll go gather some wood." Patamon said. Gatomon nodded and sat down. The fire made her feel warm, and soon enough her fur was fully dry.
"Feeling any better?" Patamon asked as he came back with a pile of tree branches in his arms.
"Yeah." Gatomon replied. While her fur was dry and warm, her gloves were still soaking wet. She carefully took off her gloves and placed them near the fire.
Gatomon stared at the cross-shaped scar that was on the palm of her paw. It was the only thing that would remind her of her past for the rest of her life, how she was Myotismon's slave, all the pain and suffering she had to go through...
"Don't worry." Patamon said. Gatomon shook her head and mumbled "W-what?"
"You don't have to worry anymore." Patamon said, and pointed at Gatomon's scar. "He isn't coming back anymore. I'm sure of it."
"Y-yeah, me too." Gatomon muttered, but kept staring at her scar as Patamon tossed some branches into the fire.
Some minutes later, Gatomon was pretty sure that her gloves were dry already. She reached out for them, but suddenly, lightning struck, startling both Gatomon and Patamon.
"Eek!" The two shouted in unison and hugged one another. Gatomon looked into Patamon's eyes for a few seconds, before blushing and letting him go.
"I, umm... Sorry." Gatomon said quietly. Patamon looked at her in a curious way, but didn't say anything.
The two sat there completely silent for a while. This would be the perfect chance for Gatomon to tell Patamon that she loved him, for some reason she just couldn't do it at first. She closed her eyes, and took deep breaths before opening her mouth.
"Uuh, Patamon." Gatomon started. Patamon, who had been staring at the flames, was now looking at Gatomon. "I, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" Patamon wondered. Gatomon gulped silently.
"Well, it's just that I... I..." She muttered. "Oh man, how should I put this... Look, the thing is that I..." Words got stuck in her throat before she could spill them out.
"Listen," Patamon started, and gently grabbed Gatomon's hand. "It's alright. If anything troubles you, you can tell about it to me. We're friends, right?"
"R-right." Gatomon replied. A single tear rolled down her cheek, soon followed by another.
"Don't cry." Patamon whispered and stroke Gatomon's cheek. "Don't cry, I'm here for you." Gatomon tried to calm herself down, but just couldn't do it.
"...Damn it." She uttered. "I can't go on like this anymore!" Her body was acting completely on it's own, and before she could stop herself she placed her lips on Patamon's lips and gave him a long, passionate kiss.
After Gatomon let him go, Patamon was completely dumbstruck. He couldn't say or do anything, she just stared at Gatomon with his mouth open. Gatomon, though teary-eyed, was finally smiling a little.
"I love you, Patamon." Gatomon finally managed to say. "It took me four years to fully realize it, but I love you. I love you more than anything. I can't go without you, I need you."
Patamon still remained silent. "I, I just thought you should know." Gatomon mumbled, her face turning a light shade of red.
"Gatomon," Patamon started, and looked at her in the eyes. "D, do you mean what you said?"
"I do." Gatomon replied. "From the depths of my heart. I-" Gatomon had no time to finish the sentence, since this time Patamon gave her a passionate kiss. Gatomon felt like a heavy weight inside her had vanished into thin air: She closed her eyes and kissed Patamon back, until they had to stop in order to breathe.
"You know," Patamon said afterwards. "Ever since you first joined us, I always had a little, umm, crush on you."
"Really?" Gatomon wondered. "Why did you never tell me?" Patamon blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and said "Well, I was afraid to tell you... I was afraid you didn't feel the same way towards me. So I just tried to get over it, I didn't want to ruin our friendship or anything..."
"Well then," Gatomon started after an awkward moment of silence. "I love you and you love me. I don't see any problem here." Patamon chuckled lightly, said "Yeah.", wrapped his arms behind Gatomon's back and started making out with her again.
"Come here, big boy." Gatomon whispered. She wagged her tail and gave Patamon a seductive look. Patamon couldn't hold himself back: He started kissing Gatomon's neck and pinned her to the ground.
What happened in the cave afterwards was something Patamon and Gatomon would keep to themselves for the rest of their lives. In the morning, when it had finally stopped raining, the two digimon decided to get out of the cave and return home.
"Let's go, shall we?" Patamon said, and offered his hand to Gatomon. Gatomon giggled like a little schoolgirl before she grabbed Patamon's paw, and the two walked to the sunrise, holding hands.
"That must've been the best rainstorm I've ever experienced." Gatomon thought.